Eniola stared at her phone in concern as her bodyguard, Sergie, drove up to the restaurant. He hadn't responded to her text message.
Tobias always responded.
Even with the creepy smiley face emoji or the thumbs up one. He always did but now her last three messages from the past hour were on 'delivered'.
Something was up. She could feel it.
She could also feel the cool steel around her gun before she let her fingers curl at the grip. Just in case someone decides to act funny.
Sergie immediately got down from the car and opened her door, his hand reaching out to her. "Donña."
She tentatively took it.
The door lightly shut behind her.
"Jefe says you can come to him unaccompanied and that you'll be leaving together?" he reconfirmed and Eniola nodded.
Another weird factor was letting her leave anywhere without Sergie or in his absence, two other guards since the man was twice as good but Tobias was acting odd that evening.
"Serg?" she called before she headed towards the door being held open.
"Yes, donña?"
"Stay close."
He stared at her for an extra second before bowing his head. "Definitely."
She sent him a relieved smile before walking into the restaurant. An attendant was quick to meet her.
"Reservation?"
She checked her phone and his last message. "Si, Tobias Ferna."
The blonde woman at the pulpit looked excited.
"Eniola Gillian? I knew it was you. I just wanted to make sure, of course— Right this way, I mean." She led Eniola through the dining, the very few customers staring at her in a not-so-subtle manner.
She couldn't blame them.
The dress Tobias picked for her was glorious.
He had seen her wear red one time ten years ago and decided that it had suited her best and he didn't lie. The soft suede dress that barely got to her knees with its plunging neckline was a choice he had enthusiastically made.
She could easily add an inner bra top and a blazer and it would be perfect for office wear.
That was more of her aesthetic these days.
Her steps slowed as they approached a clearing— an excluded balcony with drapes separating them from the general hall. The space was large, so much so that the round table and pair of chairs sitting across from each other looked lonely. There were warm lights that were dim enough to not overpower the stars above them and the man currently standing by the railing.
"There she is..."
His smile was contagious and she felt her face heat up and her lips stretch.
The drapes fell behind them, closing them off from the eyes of the public and Tobias walked towards her.
"I thought something happened to you," she said, her worries immediately dissipating when he tipped her chin up and kissed her. "Why do I even bother with the lip gloss?"
He pulled away with a pleased glossy smile. "Because you're stubborn?"
Tobias took her hand and escorted her to the table, letting go to pull the chair out so she could sit. Surprisingly, there was already food spread across them and what looked like a chocolate cake with cut strawberries sitting in the middle.
"All you've had today is breakfast," he explained as he settled across from her. "The courses would take time so I reasoned it would be better if they were presented all at once."
"Hmm..." she hummed in agreement, lifting the first cloche and almost salivating at the sight of butter seared lobster tails. "You reasoned correctly. Thank you so much."
"Anything for you my love. Now let's eat. Planning all of this builds up an appetite."
~~~
"Tell me, darling," he said as the waiters cleared their empty bowls while she still had the cake. "Why did you think something happened to me?"
Eniola shrugged. "You weren't replying to my texts. I thought something was wrong."
He frowned but reached into his pocket to retrieve his phone. After holding on to the power button for a few seconds, it came back on.
"I haven't changed since yesterday," he explained, returning it and reaching for the bottle of wine. "I think my battery died."
"It's okay. At least you're okay."
He breathed a laugh as he poured some wine into her glass and then his. "We're drinking tonight. Just a little bit here and then a few bottles back at the house."
Eniola raised a brow.
"Oh? What are we celebrating?" she asked and he smiled.
"A lot of things, my queen," Tobias said. "Life, love, our children... you."
She smiled, clinking their glasses together before taking a sip. "This is good wine. Domaine?"
He nodded.
Eniola took another sip and thought for a while longer. "Domaine Leroy? Pinot noir?"
He kissed his teeth. "You were so close, darling. It's Domaine Leroy Richebourge."
"Almost got it! I thought I tasted Grand Cru but I wasn't too sure."
Tobias brought the glass to his lips, hiding a smile because he knew how much of a sore loser she could be.
A small sizzle made her slightly jump in her seat and she tore her eyes away from his enchanting ones.
The view made her gasp.
One by one, tendrils of colorful lights shot into the sky, seemingly dying into the altitude before imploding and combusting into vibrant brightness. They were like flowers— wild flowers catching fire and fading away in the most dramatic fashion before giving way to new, even larger ones.
She looked back at Tobias, eyes wide. "Tobi, fireworks! There's fireworks in September!"
Tobias laughed, his gaze still on her as she watched the show.
She couldn't look away. Not when they were this close. They were just so bright and cheerful and oddly enough felt like Christmas, New Year and every good thing put together.
They felt like excitement, laughter, and a lot of good wine too.
A few moments later, the lights blended with the sky, dispersing until the stars were once again visible and Eniola sighed. It had been a while since she saw such bright stars in the city.
"Baby, the fireworks were beautiful. What did you think they were—" Her voice died in her throat as he saw her in front of her, on one knee and with one of those looks that meant he already had his way. "Baby..."
"Fuego..."
She slowly dropped her glass, not exactly trusting herself to hold it as her heart pounded against her chest. She could feel her palm get sweaty when he gently took it in his.
"Did you... Did you do that?" she asked quietly, almost breathless when he chuckled.
"I did think it was cliche but when I saw the way you looked at it? I have zero regrets," he said. "Did they make you feel happy?"
Eniola nodded. "They did. Fireworks tend to do that to people."
"Fire tends to do that to me. At least you understand a fraction of how I feel about you," he confessed. "Like fire, fireworks are loud, extravagant and to a certain extent, obnoxious. They crave attention and feed on it and like magnets, you cannot help but be attracted to them. But on the other hand they're also bright, proud and so beautiful that they hurt your eyes when you stare at them for too long."
He brought her hand to his lips.
"Their beauty could blind you but you still want to keep them to yourself and watch them burn brightly for an eternity... Like you, my love. My queen, my fire. My firework. Mi fuego artificial," Tobias' tone was quiet as he spoke, soothingly circling his thumb around the back of her palm.
Eniola felt her eyes sting.
"Would you say yes?"
His question didn't need further buttressing. He had asked her the very question almost a decade ago but this time, her answer was different. She was different. He hadn't changed one bit.
"If I do get the same answer, I'll be back on my knees in less than a week."
She knew he would. Tobias never went back on his word.
Eniola pursed her lips together and quickly pulled her hand away so she could wipe her tears. He looked worried but she had her mind on a million other things. They would be more than happy together. They wouldn't end up like his or her parents. They would make it work.
She was sure of it.
She nodded her head, a choked sob escaping her the same time he sighed. "Yes."
Before the tears turned to a downpour, she felt her face against his soft cotton shirt as he patted her head. "It's alright, my love. You'll be fine. We'll be fine."
She whimpered, loathing how miserable she sounded but could not stop crying.
"I don't know why I'm crying so much. I'm supposed to be happy— I mean, I am happy. I just don't—"
She heard him drag the chair so he could be right beside her before sitting. "You're overwhelmed and I understand. You have every right to feel how you feel."
It didn't help the tears so she nodded again, blindly taking the handkerchief he offered.
Eniola was sure her makeup was a complete mess by now but knew he wouldn't care. He had seen her at her worst times and this was just one of them.
"I just don't want us to end up like my dad and mom. I want us to grow old and have grandkids and have you every weekend on the phone trying to convince Mimi to come home while still denying she isn't your favorite," she said, lightly blowing her already runny nose.
Tobias smiled, rubbing her thigh. "We'll do all of that and more, darling. We'll be everything for our children that our parents failed to be for us. We'll be there for them. We'll be there for us."
She allowed herself to return his smile. He always knew what to say.
They were going to be okay.
Minutes later, she was calm and laughed when he wordlessly handed her her wine. "Baby?"
Something was missing.
"Yes, my love?"
"Where's the ring?" she asked and the look of realization on his face showed that he had forgotten.
He reached underneath the table and pulled out a large rectangular box.
"Is that a ring?"
Tobias said nothing as he unclasped the box, its contents facing him before he showed her.
Her eyes widened with excitement.
Eleven different slots of pristine white bands, all lined up. They were small, beautiful and reflected the very little beam of light they caught. The first and last five were identical— simple, with the diamond arrangements spelling out single letters.
The one in the middle was a double ring, with a rounded-square diamond bordered by smaller sizes of the gem.
He picked up that one and lifted her hand so he could fit it on her ring finger that she had purposely avoided throughout the years.
"As I promised, a ring for each finger."
~~~
Any guesses on what the letters on the rings say?
I should have published this a lot earlier but my BOYFRIEND insisted I added memes.
See you when I see you.💃🏽